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SHIP ISLAND 
RAILROAD 



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IN DUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




CAPT. J. T. JONES, 

PRESIDENT GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD. 



INDUSTRIAL 
MISSISSIPPI 



With special reference to the 
GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD 



Second Edition 



1 904 
FISK & ROBINSON 

NEW YORK AND BOSTON 



Copyright, 1904, by 
FiSK & Robinson. 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MAR 22 1904 

-^ Cepyright Entry 

CLASS «- XXc. No. 

^ Cj iff A- O 

COPY 3 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



CONTENTS 

PAGE. 

Preface, 9 

The State, 1 1 

Industrial Mississippi, 17 

Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 28 

GuLFPORT Harbor and Terminals, 38 

Industries along the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 49 

Towns on the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, . . 65 

Financial Position, 75 

Conclusion, 81 

Appendix, 94 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



PREFACE 

THIS pamphlet is issued mainly to interest the investing 
public in the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad and to 
give an idea of the rapid development of Southern 
Mississippi, through which that railroad runs. 

Such marked progress has been made in that section in recent 
years that those who are not in close touch with it can hardly 
appreciate its growth. It seems advisable, therefore, to issue a 
pamphlet to give some idea of the development. The interest 
shown was greater than had been andcipated, and, in conse- 
quence, the first edition of this pamphlet has been exhausted. 
The present edition includes the latest statistics of the Gulf & 
Ship Island Railroad, and contains several new illustrations 
which show the rapid growth of Southern Mississippi and the 
development of Gulfport into one of the leading ports on the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

Apart from the large lumbering operations that are being car- 
ried on in that region, the number of farms and factories is 
continually increasing. As the longleaf pine trees are cut down 
the cotton acreage is enlarged, and, in consequence, new cotton 
mills, cotton-seed oil mills, fertilizer factories, cotton compresses, 
and cotton gins are being started. The confidence of business 
men in that part of the country is well illustrated by the many 
new factories that are being built. Among the concerns that have 
recently recognized the advantages of locating along the Gulf & 
Ship Island Railroad may be mentioned the E. Van Winkle Gin 
& Machine Works Company of Atlanta, Ga., which is con- 
structing a $250,000 cotton-seed oil mill at Gulfport; the Vir- 
ginia Carolina Chemical Company of Richmond, Va., which is 
building a large fertilizer factory at Jackson ; and Armour & 
Company of Chicago, 111., who have recently completed a cold 
storage plant at Gulfport. 

Every effort has been made to have the figures in the follow- 
ing pages accurate and to make no statements that are not sup- 
ported by facts. E. W. 

January i, 1904. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 








LONGLEAF PINES IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



THE STATE 

PHYSICAL FEATURES 

THE surface of Mississippi is in general 
rolling, and comparatively high. On 
the Gulf coast, the ground is twenty to 
twenty-five feet above the sea level and from that 
point northward it rises gradually till in the 
neighborhood of Jackson it is about 420 feet 
above the sea. Along the Mississippi River, as 
in the Yazoo delta, the land is low. 

The country is well supplied with watercourses 
and drainage, the western part of the State being 
drained by the Mississippi River and its tribu- 
taries, the eastern section by the Tombigbee and 
its affluents, and the central and southern por- 
tions by the Pearl and Pascagoula rivers. Thus 
Mississippi is favored with three great watersheds 
which drain it completely. 

WATER SUPPLY 

The water supply of the State, especially in the 
southern part, is excellent. Not only are rivers 
and streams numerous, but brooks and springs 
abound. The purest artesian water may also be 
obtained in many places. 

Perhaps more important, however, for Missis- 
sippi's agriculture is its heavy rainfall. This is 
generally well distributed throughout the year, 
there being no "wet" and "dry" seasons. The 
annual rainfall is generally from forty-eight to 
fifty-eight inches per annum, while in States west 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



of the Mississippi it ranges from twenty to as low 
as four inches per annum. As a comparison, it 
may be noted that New York enjoys a precipita- 
tion of from thirty-two to forty-six inches per 
annum. 

CLIMATE 

The chmate of Mississippi is exceptionally 
advantageous for agricultural purposes. The 
summers are in the main devoid of the intense 
heat often felt in northern latitudes, and the 
winters are short, mild, and pleasant. The sum- 
mer heat is more prolonged than it is farther 
north, but much less oppressive, owing to the 
breezes that come from the Gulf. Such a thing 
as sunstroke is almost unknown in the Gulf 
States. It is a well-established fact that in the 
course of a year more out-door labor can be per- 
formed with less inconvenience than in the North. 




OLD CAPITOL AT JACKSON. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



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NEW CAPITOL AT JACKSON. 



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INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Further, there is no cHmatic obstacle in the way 
of white labor. This has been proved by the 
health of the large number of immigrants who 
have gone to the State from the North and West 
in recent years. 

HEALTH 

Statistics prove that Mississippi is one of the 
most healthful States in the Union and, further- 
more, that the death rate among the white people 
is less than it is among the colored. This is 
shown by the following figures, which are quoted 
from the United States Census Reports for 1900: 

DEATH RATE PER THOUSAND OF POPULATION. 

New York, . . . 17.92 Michigan, . . . 13.87 

Massachusetts, . . 17.74 Mississippi — Total,. 13.06 

Maryland, . . . 17.20 Mississippi — White, 11. 61 

California, . . . 15.16 Mississippi — Black,. 14. 11 

To show that this low death rate in Mississippi 
is not abnormal, we quote the following: 

DEATH RATE PER THOUSAND OF POPULATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 

1870, . . . 10.9 1890, . . . II. 3 
1880, . . . 12.5 1900, . . . 13. I 

EDUCATION 

In education, Mississippi has kept in the fore- 
most ranks of her sister States. In addition to 
an excellent system of schools, she is exception- 
ally well provided with higher institutions. 
Among these may be mentioned the University 
of Mississippi at Oxford, the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College at Starkville, and the Indus- 



14 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



trial Institute and College for Girls. These 
institutions are for white students, while the 
Alcorn University is maintained for the educa- 
tion of negroes. 
Tuition is free at 
all of these institu- 
tions, except in the 
law department of 
the State Univer- 
sity. At the Agri- 
cultural and Me- 
chanical College 
there has been re- 
cently established 
one of the most complete textile schools in the 
country. This is now in successful operation and 
is doing much to advance cotton manufacturing 
in Mississippi. 





A #»'f ;/i-Hy 



JACKSON MILLSAPS COLLEGE. 



POPULATION 

An indication of Mississippi's prosperity is its 
increase in population. As large as the last 
census shows this increase to be, the next census 
will show it much larger, for in the last three 
years the growth of the State has been remark- 
able. As indications of this growth may be 
mentioned the towns of Hattiesburg, Laurel, 
Columbia, Collins, Gulfport, and many others 
along the line of the Gulf & Ship Island Rail- 
road. Thus Hattiesburg has grown from 4,175 
in 1900 to over 7,000 in 1903; Laurel, from 



NDUSTRIAL 



MISSISSIPPI 



3,193 to 6,500; Columbia, from 507 to 2,000; 
Collins, from 25 to 2,000; and Gulfport, from 
1,060 to over 3,500. The population of the 
State since 1870 follows : 





POPULATION OF MISSISSIPPI. 




1870, . . 


827,922 1890, . 


1,289,600 


1880, . . 


• • ^i3i'597 1900^ • • 


. 1,551,270 







COTTON GIN. 



16 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



INDUSTRIAL MISSISSIPPI 

THE present progress of Mississippi is 
an indication of the industrial possi- 
bilities of the South. Before consider- 
ing her manufacturing and agricultural prosperity, 
it is interesting to note the increase of her railroad 
mileage, as this has such an important bearing 
upon the prosperity of any country. From 1,127 
miles of road in 1880, the mileage increased to 
2,934 in 1900, or 160 per cent. 

Although agriculture is still the leading in- 
dustry of the State, manufacturing, in its various 
branches, seems likely to surpass it in the near 
future. In 1880, the value of manufactured pro- 
ducts was but twelve per cent, of that of agricul- 
tural products, while in 1900 this ratio had increased 
to forty per cent. As this indicates, the growth of 
manufacturing in Mississippi has been very rapid. 
A few figures in this connection are interesting: 

Number of Establishments. Capital Invested. Value of Products. 

1880, .... 1,479 $4,727,600 $7,518,302 

1890, .... 1,698 14,896,884 18,705,834 

1900, .... 4,772 35,807,419 40,431,386 

It will thus be noticed that between 1880 and 
1900 the number of factories increased over three- 
fold and the capital invested over sevenfold. 
The leading manufactures are those using lumber 
and cotton. Statistics of these follow: 

Industries. Capital in 1900. Value of Products. 

Lumber Products, . . . $17,337,538 $15,656,110 

Cotton Products, . . . 9,475,532 10,368,905 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




M 



t 




BRINGING COTTON TO RAILROAD STATION. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Other important industries are naval stores, 
car and shop construction by railroads, sash, 
blind, and door factories, and flour and grist 
mills. 

Though manufacturing is advancing more 
rapidly than agriculture, the latter continues to 
grow, as the following tables show : 



\^al 


ue of Farm Property. 


Value 
Per Acre. 


Value of 
Products. 


1880, . 


^122,016,268 


$7.70 


$63,701,844 


1890, . 


167,328,457 


9.52 


73.342,995 


1900, . 


204,221,027 


I 1.20 


102,492,283 


Tot; 


1 Number of Farms. 


Average 
Acreage. 


Total 
Acreage. 


1880, . 


. 101,772 


155.8 


15,855,462 


1890, . 


. . . i44>3i8 


121. 8 


17,572,547 


1900, . 


. . . 220,328 


82.8 


18,240,736 



From these figures we note that the only 
decrease is in the average area of farms, and this 




CUliON 10 HE L(.).M ll<l'..~iMiD. 



jy 



NDUSTRIAL 



MISSISSIPPI 




^ V'-^ 

\;-\/ 



COTTON COMPRESS AND WAREHOUSE. 



Is most desirable in that it shows that the inten- 
sive system of farming is coming into greater 
use. In this way the yield per acre is being 
increased and the agricultural lands of the State 
are being more thickly settled. This intensive 
system of farming benefits the railroads in that 
it brings them increased traffic in many directions. 
The agriculture of the State consists in the 
main of cotton, cereals, sugar cane, truck farming, 
and fruit growing. As is generally known, cotton 
is the staple product, and its production has stead- 
ily increased. It is pleasing to note, however, 
that the farmers have learned to diversify their 
crops. The figures of cotton production in 
Mississippi follow: 



i««o, 
1890, 
1900, 



Acres. 
2, 106,21 5 

2,883,278 
2,897,920 



Bales. 
963,111 

1,154.725 

^3i3>798 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 





COTTON MILL AT LAURKL. 



These figures show a yield of nearly half a bale 
of cotton to the acre, which is an excellent aver- 
age, as is seen from the following table : 



PRODUCTION OF COTTON BY STATES. 






STATES. 


Acres. 


500-Pound 

Bales. 


Bales 
Per Acre. 


Texas, . . . . 


6,960,367 


2,584,810 




37^ 


Georgia, . 






3.343>o83 


1,188,337 




355 


Alabama, . 






3,202,135 


1,093,697 




342 


Mississippi, 






2,897,920 


1,286,680 




444 


South Carolina, 






2,050,179 


837,378 




408 


^Arkansas, 






1,641,855 


705,928 




430 


Louisiana, 






• 1,376,254 


699,521 




508 


North Carolina, 






. 1,007,020 


433,014 




430 


Tennessee, 






623,137 


235,008 




377 


Counties along 


Gulf 8 


z 








Ship Island Railroad, 


126,339 


53,599 




424 


From the 


ab 


ov 


2 it will be 


seen that 


Mis 


,sis- 



sippi IS surpassed in 
Louisiana alone, and 



the average yield per acre by 
that the yield of the counties 




J. T. JONES, President. JOSEPH A. JOM 

R. MORGAN, General Superintendent. 




esident. T. P. HALE, 2(1 Vice-President. 

. BOYLSTON, General Freight and Passenger Agent. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



along the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad compares 
favorably with the average for the State. And it 
should be remembered that the average for Mis- 
sissippi includes the product of the Yazoo delta, 
the most famous cotton-growing district in the 
world. These figures clearly refute any state- 
ment that the soil of southern Mississippi is not 
suitable for growing cotton. In fact, many farm- 
ers along the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, who 
are employing modern methods, are producing 
approximately a bale of cotton to the acre. 
The above figures are taken from the United 
States Census of 1900. The acreage devoted to 
cotton in the counties along the Gulf & Ship 
Island Railroad is now considerably greater than 
it was at that time. 

In the production of cereals, Mississippi is 
advancing rapidly, as is shown by the following: 

Production in Bushels. Increase. 

1880, . . 23,553,441 1880-I89O, . . . 17.0^ 

1890, . . 27,543,047 189O-I9OO, . . . 44.2^ 

1900, . . 39,703,872 1880-1900, , . . 68.6^'^ 

The increase since 1900 is well illustrated by 
the corn crop of 1903, which alone aggregated 
39,848,273 bushels, or more than the total pro- 
duction of all cereals in 1900. The corn crop in 
1902 amounted to only 24,658,588 bushels. 

The growing of sugar cane has also increased 
considerably since 1880. The greater part of this 
is used to make cane syrup, the production of 



24 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



which increased from 536,625 gallons in 1880 to 
1,431,219 gallons in 1900. 

In truck farming and fruit growing, similar 
increases in acreage and production have been 
made, and it is in these branches of farming that 
Mississippi's future seems brightest. Further, it 
has been proved conclusively, by the State's 
experimental farm and by many progressive farm- 
ers, that fruits and vegetables can be grown most 
successfully in southern Mississippi. The farm- 
ers are at last beginning to realize that the profit 
from growing fruits and vegetables is considerably 
more than that from growing cotton. The best 
proof of this is the census reports, which show 
that between 1890 and 1900 the number of peach 
trees increased from 878,569 to 1,856,748, and 
the number of apple trees from 357,309 to 
705,796. During the same period, the number of 
cherry trees increased almost fourfold, apricot 





SPINNING ROOM OF COTTON MILL. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 






FERTILIZER PLANTS AND COTTON-SEED OIL MILLS AT JACKSON AND LAUK. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



trees more than fivefold, and pear trees more than 
sixfold. As showing the profit to be derived 
from truck farming, as compared with growing 
other crops, the census reports give the average 
value per acre of all crops in Mississippi as 
$14.59, while for vegetables they show it to be 
I47.68. Notwithstanding the fact that these 
figures show vegetables to return more than three 
times the profit that other crops yield, the acre- 
age of vegetables was, in 1900, but 1.7 per cent, 
of the acreage devoted to all crops. We expect 
that the State will soon show a substantial in- 
crease in the number and size of its vegetable 
farms. 

The pine woods of the State have contrib- 
uted, in a large degree, to its present prosperity, 
in that they have attracted a great number of suc- 
cessful lumbermen from the North, who have 
brought a large amount of capital into the coun- 
try. Further, many of these men have turned 
their attention to interests other than lumber. 
Thus some have become interested in farming, 
while others have invested their money in manu- 
facturing, such as cotton mills, cotton-seed oil 
mills, and fertilizer factories. The leading lum- 
bermen estimate that they have sufficient timber 
to last them twenty-five to thirty years, and, in 
addition, there are hundreds of thousands of 
acres that are at present held by investors. 

Until recently no mineral resources of value 
had been found in Mississippi, except various 



a; 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



MACHINE SHOP AT HATTIESBURG. 



clays from which excellent bricks are made. 
Lately, however, deposits of iron ore and kaolin 
have been discovered, though their value is as yet 
undetermined. 



GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD 

LOCATION 

The Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, owning and 
operating 251 miles of railroad, is situated in the 
heart of the pine timber belt of southern Missis- 
sippi. Its main line, 160.50 miles in length, 
extends from Gulfport, Mississippi, on Missis- 
sippi Sound, Gulf of Mexico, north and north- 
west to Jackson, the State capital. A branch 
diverges from the main line at Maxie, forty-four 
miles from Gulfport, and extends 48.75 miles to 
Columbia, on the Pearl River. Another branch 
leaves the main road at Saratoga, 1 1 1 miles from 
Gulfport and forty-nine miles from Jackson, and 
runs east 41.75 miles to Laurel. A third branch 
is being constructed from Mendenhall, 129 miles 



28 



INDLiSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



from Gulfport and thirty-one miles from Jackson, 
to Columbia, a distance ot about sixty miles. 
This will join with the first-named branch and 
will, in effect, give the Gulf & Ship Island Rail- 
road a double track from Maxie to Menden- 
hall, a distance of eighty-five miles via the main 
line. When this branch is completed the road 
wdll have a total length of about 310 miles. 

The advantages of this location are many, and 
of these a few will be mentioned. It is in a ter- 
ritory where no part of its mileage is paralleled. 
It runs through one of the finest bodies of long- 
leaf pine in the South. The soil is fertile and 
much of it is 
already in cultiva- 
tion. It has nu- 
merous connec- 
tions with trunk 
lines and has for its 
southern terminus 
one of the finest 
h a r b o rs on the 
Gulf of Mexico. 
These advantages 
will all be dis- 
cussed at some 
length later. 

HISTORY 

The company 
was chartered m a glimpse of forest ani 





29 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



^z 




€1, 9| 

I U bl ■ .. 

flifcli'B'l 




J 







>;4' 



GENERAL OFFICES OF THE GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD AT GULFPORT. 



30 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



1882, with the intention of making Ship Island 
Harbor available for a seaport for Mississippi. 
For this purpose Gulfport was chosen as the south- 
ern terminus of the road, in that it was the nearest 
point to deep water. After varying vicissitudes, 
the line from Gulfport to Hattiesburg was opened 
for business on January i, 1897. It was then con- 
tinued through to Jackson and the first train was 
run through to that point on the Fourth of July, 
1900. The Columbia and Laurel branches were 
first operated in September of the same year. 
The piers and channel of the company have been 
open for business since January, 1903. 

The charter under which the company operates 
is a perpetual one, granted before the present 
State constitution was adopted. In addition to 
all the usual concessions to railroads and some 
special ones, the company has the important ad- 
vantage of rights to land under water half a mile 
wide, extending six miles into Mississippi Sound. 
Since the adoption of the new constitution no 
charter can be obtained by a railroad in Missis- 
sippi except one revocable at the pleasure of the 
legislature. As that of the Gulf & Ship Island 
Railroad has been passed upon by the Supreme 
Court of the State, its permanency is assured. 
Recently the United States Circuit Court has 
decided that this charter exempts the railroaci 
from the rulings of the Mississippi Railroad Com- 
mission. In consequence, the charter is in itself 
a valuable asset. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD LOCOMOTIVE. 



CONNECTIONS 

The company has exceptional facihties for the 
interchange of traffic on account of its railroad 
connections. Gulfport, the southern terminus of 
the road, is situated on the main line of the 
Louisville & Nashville Railroad. At Hatties- 
burg, seventy miles north of Gulfport, the Gulf 
& Ship Island Railroad crosses the New Orleans 
& Northeastern ("Queen & Crescent Route"). 
The Columbia and the Laurel branches connect 
with the same road at Lumberton and Laurel, 
respectively. Other roads that enter Hattiesburg 
are the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City and the 
Pearl & Leaf River. At Jackson, its northern 
terminus, the Gulf & Ship Island connects with 
the main line of the Illinois Central, with the 
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley (Illinois Central 
system), and with the Alabama & Vicksburg 
("Queen & Crescent Route"). 




]MAP OF THE 



Terminals, Main Pier 

i\and Proposed Piers 

at gulfport. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



The Gulf & Ship Island Railroad is most val- 
uable to these numerous connections, in that it 
originates business and delivers more freight to 
them than it receives from them. Thus last year 
its total freight amounted to 1,058,033 tons, of 
which 962,213 tons originated on its own line and 
only 95,820 tons were received from other carriers. 
In consequence, the Gulf & Ship Island is in an 
independent position and, owing to the competi- 
tion among its connections for the routing of its 
freight, it obtains maximum allowances for its 
proportion of through rates. For the same reason 
its customers obtain as low through rates from its 
stations as do those from similarly situated points 
on the trunk lines. The following statement of 
the carload business interchanged with its con- 
nections during the last four fiscal years shows 
clearly that the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad does 
originate business, and that it is in no way de- 
pendent on its connections. 





Cars Delive 


red. 


Cars Received. 




Loaded. 


Empty. 


Loaded. 


Empty. 


1900, . 


. . 12,971 


i>576 


6,539 


6,635 


I90I, . . 


• • 20,935 


1,975 


11,659 


10,937 


1902, . . 


. . 31,614 


2,494 


14,592 


18,336 


1903, . . 


. . 33,889 


i>955 


15,256 


19,009 



During the first six months of the current 
year the railroad handled 27,983 loaded cars, as 
compared with 24,173 cars in the corresponding 
period of last year. 



34 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




FIRST STEAMERS TO ARRIVE AT GULFPORT. 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 

The railroad is of standard gauge, laid with 
sixty-five, seventy-five, and some sixty-pound 
steel rails. The latter, however, are being relaid 
with seventy-five-pound rails. There are but few 
bridges and these are of steel. The road is well 
ballasted throughout, being surfaced with a cement 
gravel which sheds water perfectly. The road is 
fortunate in having immense pits of this gravel 
right on its line. I'he cuts and the embankments 
are of the standard width. The station buildings, 
machine shops, water tanks, coal chutes, and tele- 
graph lines are suf^cient and are properly main- 
tained. All this is according to the reports of 
competent engineers. The company owns the 
necessary right of way, has commodious terminals 



35 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




GULFPOKT HARBOR FROM THE PIER. 



36 



I N 13 U S T R I A L 

MISSISSIPPI 




^^^^0^ 



STEAMERS LOADING LUMBER AT GULFPORT. 

at Gulfport and yard room at Hattiesburg, and 
is accorded the use of a convenient part of the 
Illinois Central yard for terminals at Jackson. 
With its six new engines and 500 new freight cars, 
the road now has thirty-one locomotives, twenty 
passenger cars, 825 freight cars, and thirty-one 
road-service cars. This equipment is in excellent 
condition and is sufficient for the present require- 
ments of the road and for those of the immediate 
future. The marine department of the railroad 
is also fully equipped. 



»^ 







CDALINt; SLIP — MAIN I'lFR AT GI'T.FrOHT. 




I .tf.^Tfcrf 






j" 




GULFPORT HAKbOK F 



GULFPORT HARBOR AND 
TERMINALS 

In addition to its excellent facilities for the 
control of traffic to and from the interior, the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad Company has a still 
further outlet for its traffic on the Gulf of Mexico, 
for, with the cooperation of the United States 
Government, it is completing at Gulfport a deep- 
water harbor. The advantages of this harbor 
over others on the Gulf coast are many, and it 
is not unreasonable to expect that, before many 
years, Gulfport will become one of the leading 
Southern ports. The growth of this harbor will 
naturally bring to the railroad much through 
business (both import and export) which it could 
not otherwise obtain. 

Twelve miles south of Gulfport lies the well- 
known Ship Island, which is one of a chain of 
islands separating Mississippi Sound from the 
Gulf of Mexico. Under the lee of this island, 
within the Sound, is Ship Island Harbor. The 
value of this anchorage was recognized at the 



38 




THE COURT HOUSE. 



earliest settlement of the country in 1699 by 
d'Iberville, and again by General Pakenliam, 
leader of the British army in 18 14-15, and by 
Admiral Farragut of the Union Navy in 1862. 
Both of these officers anchored their fleets in Ship 
Island Harbor, preparatory to besieging New 
Orleans. Furthermore, ships have come to this 
harbor for many years to obtain cargoes, which 
have had to be lightered out from the mainland. 
In order to overcome this disadvantage and 
the expense of loading ships at anchor at a dis- 
tance off shore, the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad 
Company, under contract with the United States 
Government, has dredged a channel extending 
from Gulfport to deep water, a distance of about 
seven miles. This channel is 310 feet wide and 
twenty-four to twenty-five feet deep. An anchor- 
age basin, the depth of the channel and one-quar- 
ter by one-half mile in area, is in course of con- 
struction adjoining the piers and docks that are 
being built at Ciulfport. I'he main pier, which 
is now completed, is within thirty feet of being 
one mile in length. In addition to this, five 



39 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Map of 

MISSISSIPPI SOUND 

Showing Islands Protecting 
Gulfport Harbor from the open Gulf 




_ r==^S+(IP ISLAND 

^^G U L F OF MEXICO 



. WORKS, BUFFALO 



Other piers are to be built, each 700 feet long. 
All the important features of wharves at other 
ports will be embodied in their construction. 
The combined length of wharfage at the port 
will be over 10,000 feet. In addition, the 
anchorage basin is surrounded by a revetment 
which can readily be converted into a wharf when 
desired. This would add 2,640 feet more to the 
wharfage of the port. The main pier is now in 
regular and constant use for the delivery of freight 
to both foreign and coastwise shipping. At the 
end of December, 1903, no less than twenty-seven 
vessels were taking on cargo at this pier at the 
same time. 



40 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



The channel, which runs in an absolutely 
straight line from the piers to Ship Island Har- 
bor, has a bottom such that it can be dredged 
to any desired depth. As the sides are of clay 
and are dredged at an angle, and as the channel is 
not affected by cross currents or streams of any 
kind, there is no tendency for it to fill in. The 
tide is small and its direction is practically the 
same as that of the channel. In consequence, 
the channel has remained absolutely permanent 
and has confirmed the opinion of the engineers 
who investigated it prior to its being dredged. 
The United States Government engineers, and 
other experts who have examined it, commend the 
work. They report that its maintenance should 
be materially less than a channel affected by a 
river, as is the case at most ports. The United 
States Congress has already made an annual 
appropriation for its maintenance. 

The most complete test that the harbor has 
had to date was in August, 1901, when the Gulf 
coast experienced one of the worst storms in its 
history. The pier, though incomplete, withstood 
the full force of the waves without damage, and 
the boats that were in its lee (the anchorage basin 
at that time was not surrounded by a breakwater 
as at present) rode out the gale with perfect safety. 
Everywhere else along the coast enormous dam- 
age was done to shipping. Further, the channel, 
though it was very incomplete and had perpen- 
dicular sides at the time, withstood the test excep- 



41 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




MAIN PIER AT GULFPORT — LOOKING LANDWARD. 



42 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




GULFPOKT YACHT CLUB. 



tionally well and proved its permanency to the 
engineers in charge. In fact, the only tendency 
that has been noticed is for the small tide to 
"scour" the channel and so increase its depth, as 
it has done with the channel which the Govern- 
ment dredged some years ago at the entrance to 
Ship Island Harbor. 

COMPARISON WITH OTHER GULF PORTS 

As it may be asked how this port can compete 
successfully with such cities as New Orleans, 
Mobile, and Pensacola, a few of its advantages 
will be noted here. First, it has as safe a harbor 
(Ship Island Harbor) and anchorage basin as can 
be found anywhere on the Gulf coast. This has 
been recognized so often that it is unnecessary to 
speak further about it. 



43 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Second, the piers at Gulfport can be reached 
more quickly from the open Gulf, and consequently 
from foreign ports, than those of any of the above- 
mentioned cities. Owing to its short, straight 
channel and to its being but twelve miles from 
the open sea, vessels can come up to the piers at 
Gulfport within an hour, whereas it takes consid- 
erably longer to enter any of the other harbors. 
Thus, sailing ships can save from one to two days 
by going to Gulfport rather than to Mobile or 
New Orleans, and steamers can save from six to 
twelve hours. 

Third, its channel is surpassed by none. It 
is true that at present it is not as deep as that of 
New Orleans, but it can be easily dredged to any 
depth that the commerce of the port requires. 
Even now, however, it is a foot deeper than that 
of Mobile, as the channel there has but twenty- 
three feet of water over the bar. The strong 
points of the channel to Gulfport are its per- 
manence and ease of navigation. To the first of 
these we have already called attention, while the 
second is due to the fact that the channel is abso- 
lutely straight, is very wide (310 feet), and is but 
seven miles long. 

Finally, Gulfport is situated quite as well as, 
if not better than, are Mobile and New Orleans 
for reaching northern and western markets. 
Thus, Gulfport is twenty-three miles nearer Jack- 
son, Mississippi (the junction of the Illinois 
Central and the Gulf & Ship Island railroads), 



44 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



than is New Orleans and so enjoys the advantage 
of that distance for all places north of that point. 
On account of the many track connections of 
the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, the facilities 
for shipment from Gulfport to all points in the 
interior are excellent. 

Thus we see that Gulfport occupies a strong 
strategic position in the commerce of the Gulf 
and that her future is as bright as, if not brighter 
than, that of any of her rivals. It is not too 
much to say that the possibilities of this young 
city (it had but lOO people when the Gulf & Ship 
Island Railroad first entered it) and, consequently, 
of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, are almost 
unlimited. As showing the need of such a port, 
it should be noted that her wharves had hardly 
been open for business two months before twelve 
vessels were there at the same time; in fact, there 
were more vessels than the wharves could at that 
time conveniently accommodate. These vessels 
represented all nations and were loading cargoes 




J- 



AT THE HEAD OF THE GULFPOK T TIER. 



45 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



for all parts of the world, some for Europe, 
others for South Africa, and still others for the 
West Indies. It is now not uncommon for 
twenty-five or more vessels to be loading at the 
same time at Gulfport. 

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, 
Gulfport, in common with all the South, should 
enjoy a remarkable prosperity when once the 
Panama Canal is open. Factories will then move 
to the South in larger numbers than ever before, 
in order that they may be nearer the South 
American and Oriental markets. But, even at 
present, the business of the Southern ports is 
growing enormously, as the following tables, 
compiled from Government reports, show: 

EXPORTS OF LEADING GULF PORTS. 
Year Ending June 30. 1895. 1900. 1902. 

New Orleans, . $68,413,362 $115,858,764 $134,486,863 
Galveston, . . 41,886,651 85,657,524 96,722,066 
Mobile, .. . 5>i73>303 13*206,334 12,503,558 
Pensacola, , . 3,042,113 14,413,522 14,466,928 
Pearl River (Ship 
Island Har- 
bor), . . 966,411 1,687,863 2,155,013 

IMPORTS. 
Year Ending June jo. 1895. 1900. 1902. 

New Orleans, . $13,861,507 $17,490,811 $23,763,480 
Mobile, . , 1,009,281 2,883,934 3>7'^'^->37^ 

The growth of the Southern ports as com- 
pared with their Northern rivals was especially 
noticeable in the fiscal year just ended. During 
the year ended June 30, 1903, there was a decrease 



46 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



in the exports of breadstuffs of 16,866,223 for 
all ports, exclusive of New Orleans and Gal- 
veston, whereas the increases at those ports were 
as follows : 

New Orleans, $7,122,256 

Galveston, 7,764,594 

Total, $14,886,850 

Thus these two Southern ports alone made up 
much more than the combined loss of all other 
ports. New York followed these two cities with 
a gain of $3,107,959. Among the cities which 
lost some of their export trade in breadstuffs 
were Boston with a loss of $4,299, 654 and 

Newport News 
with $3,694,024. 

When we com- 
pare the export 
lumber business 
of Gulfport with 
Pensacola and 
Mobile, we find 
the advantage of 
the former over 
the latter similar 
to that of South- 
ern ports in gen- 
eral over those in 
the North. Thus, 
from November i, 
1902, to May I, 




SOUTHERN PINES. 



47 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



1903, the lumber exports from Gulfport were 
13,686,000 feet as compared with practically 
nothing the previous year. This remarkable 
trade developed notwithstanding the fact that 
the exports of lumber decreased from 83,791,293 
feet to 69,278,016 feet during the same period 
at Pensacola, and from 53,543,117 feet to 
51,782,007 feet at Mobile. At Pascagoula, 
another important lumber port, the exports 
decreased from 56,505,107 feet to 37,978,499 
feet. The trade at Gulfport was practically 
done in three months, as the piers were not fully 
opened for business till after the first of the year. 
The continuous growth of Gulfport is shown by 
the following figures: During the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1902, there was exported 13,- 
044,237 feet of lumber; during the year ended 
June 30, 1903, 47,232,765 feet; and during the 
first six months of the current year, 66,129,657 




INK TREES HOXED FOR TURPENTINING. 



48 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




A TURPENTINE STILL. 



feet. In the calendar year 1903, 105,849,222 
feet of lumber was exported. An illustration of 
the importance of this port is the fact that the 
tonnage at its wharves has already at times 
exceeded that at the docks at Mobile. 

INDUSTRIES ALONG THE GULF & 
SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD 

LUMBERING 

The South to-day is preeminently the lumber- 
ing district east of the Rocky Mountains, and that 
part traversed by the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad 
is right in the heart of the so-called " Longleaf 
Pine Belt." Three or four years ago the timber 
in this belt was practically untouched, but since 
that time the attention of lumbermen throughout 
the country has been attracted to it. Prior to the 
opening of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 
lumbering on a large scale throughout its terri- 
tory was practically impossible, but since then 



49 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



rapid progress has been made, and now the com- 
bined capacity of the sawmills along the road 
(there are one hundred of them) is upwards of 
1,000,000,000 feet per annum. There is also a 
large production of turpentine and rosin. 

It is well known to lumbermen and others 
familiar with the timber resources of the United 
States that the white pine of the Northwest is 
being rapidly exhausted, that the spruce of Maine 
and other sections of the country is largely manu- 
factured into pulp and paper, and that the hem- 
lock of Pennsylvania will be exhausted in from 
twelve to fifteen years. Consequently, the lum- 
ber required east of the Rocky Mountains must 
be sought in other sections of the country. The 
largest undeveloped or partially developed tim- 
berlands from which lumber can be had without 
too great expense for freight rates are in the 
South. The best lumber that is obtained there 
is the longleaf yellow pine. This pine is nearly 
all in a belt which extends from the Gulf of 
Mexico about 150 miles north and from the 
eastern boundary of Georgia to the eastern part 
of Texas. The trees in this district are fairly 
close together and generally grow absolutely 
straight. There is practically no underbrush and, 
in consequence, the South is comparatively free 
from forest fires. Furthermore, when these do 
occur they are not very serious. The ground 
between the trees is often a good pasturage, not 
being covered with pine needles as in the Maine 



5° 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



woods. In Mississippi, Louisiana, and eastern 
Texas there are still large bodies of virgin forest, 
though lumbering operations on a large scale have 
recently been undertaken in these States by lum- 
bermen from the North and Northwest. As illus- 
trative of this entrance of Northerners a few of 
the lumber companies along the line of the Gulf 
& Ship Island Railroad may be mentioned, viz: 
the Newman Lumber Company at Hattiesburg; 
the Finkbine Lumber Company at Wiggins; 
Eastman, Gardiner & Company at Laurel; the 
Easterling Lumber Company at Ora and Mish; 
and the Chicago Lumber Company at McHenry. 
The controlling interests of the Newman Lumber 
Company are from the East (New York and 
Pennsylvania) and those of the other companies 
from the central West (Iowa, Wisconsin, and 




5'Htitai,, 






lUKPENTINE AND KUSIN AWAIllNc; SHII'MENT. 



51 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




Michigan). Of course, there are a number of 
small companies, but the tendency to-day in 
lumbering, as in other lines of business, is towards 
concentration. This is for the best interests of 
the business, in that the larger companies are all 
aiming to have their supply of timber last twenty- 
five or thirty years at the least. Furthermore, 
many of them are adding to their holdings of tim- 
ber lands and are thus increasing the length of 
time that their timber will last. 

As illustrating the strong position that Southern 
yellow pine holds in the Northern market, it may 
be noted that one of the large grain elevators at 
Duluth, Minnesota, the center of a once heavily- 
timbered region, is built of pine from Louisiana 
and Mississippi, notwithstanding the fact that the 
lumber had to be transported more than 1,200 
miles. Again, in Chicago some of the largest 



52 



INDL^STRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 








t'ttlW'^'''^'^ 



OXEN DKAWING LOGS 1 SAWMILL. 



warehouses have been constructed of Southern 



)ine. 



The entrance of successful lumbermen into this 
district has been the cause of its rapid develop- 
ment. At the start they invested large amounts 
of capital and they are now paying out weekly 
large sums of money as wages. Practically, all of 
this money is brought into the district from other 
States or from abroad, as comparatively little of 
the lumber is sold at home. Furthermore, the 
lumbermen who have gone there are generally a 
progressive and successful set of men and are 
ready to take advantage of opportunities other 
than those offered by lumbering. Thus, some 
are turning their attention to farming, as is the 
Finkbine Lumber Company at Wiggins, and 
others are investing in manufacturing, as are East- 
man, Gardiner & Company at Laurel. Members 



S3 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



of the latter firm are interested in a cotton mill, a 
cotton-seed oil mill and fertilizer factory, and sev- 
eral smaller industries. 

To those who are not acquainted with lumber- 
ing along modern lines, a visit to one of the 
large plants in the South would certainly prove 
most interesting and surprising. Operations are 
conducted on a scale equal in some respects to 




A BIG LOAD OF LOGS. 



that of our large iron and steel companies. In 
describing these operations we will follow the 
wood from the time it is cut at the logging camp 
to its final shipment to market. The word 
"camp" conveys, in some respects, a wrong im- 
pression, for the so-called "logging camp" is 
practically a small-sized town. It consists of a 
number of portable houses and boarding cars 
which remain in the same place for about five 
or six months. A great many of the men are 



54 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



married and have families who always go with the 
camp. There are the necessary stores, a doctor, 
and even a school for the children. Further, 
religious services are held every Sunday. The 
men go out to work in the morning and return 
in the evening, as laborers would in a city. A 
common method of logging is to follow along a 
railroad, if there is one, or to construct a main 
line, if there is not, and then run spurs out from 
it into the woods wherever desired. The axemen 
then work out in both directions from this track 
and, consequently, there is comparatively little 
hauling to be done by oxen. When the trees are 
sawed and felled, they are brought to the spur and 
loaded by machine on flat cars. In the larger 
camps "skidding" machines are used, which save 
all hauling by oxen. These machines pull in 
by a steel cable trees that are felled within a 
half mile of the spur and load them on the 
cars. 

The logs are then taken via the spur and main 
line to the sawmill and rolled from the flat cars 
into a pond. From there they are run up an 
incline by a chain conveyor and taken to the 
"steam nigger." This machine places them in 
position on a carriage, which travels by a circular 
or band saw. I'his latter trims the log and saws 
it up into planks or simply trims it and then 
sends it over to the gang-saw to be cut up with 
three or more others into planks of the desired 
width and thickness. It next passes to saws which 



55 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




LUMBER MILL AT LAUREL. 



56 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




LUMBER MILL AT WIGGINS. 



cut it to width and to length. From here a con- 
veyor carries it slowly along a table where it is 
sorted according to length and quality. The wood 
is then stacked by machine on trucks and run 
into kilns to be dried. From the kilns it goes 
to the planers to be finished if it is to be shipped, 
or if not, to the sheds where it is stored according 
to size and quality. 

The waste from a sawmill is considerable, though 
in certain towns a number of factories of various 
kinds use the shavings as fuel. Thus, at Laurel, 
the cotton mill, the cotton-seed oil mill and fertil- 
izer factory, the ice plant, and other factories obtain 
their power from this fuel. The larger slabs pass 
through a "hogging" machine in which they are 
ground up. They are then of such a size that 
they can be blown through a pipe and automatically 
charged into a furnace. Some of the slabs are 
now used for making shingles and laths, but many 
are burned. The present waste is considerable. 



57 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



and it appears that in the near future a large 
saving should be effected. 

The production of turpentine and rosin is 
another of the leading industries along the line of 
the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad. The pine trees 
are tapped or freshly boxed (as shown in the ac- 
companying illustration) about once a week and 
the sap is gathered from its box once a month. 
The sap is then distilled and turpentine and its 
by-product, rosin, are made. This process is 
carried on for eight months of each year for 
three to five years, when the trees are cut down 
and go to the sawmill, 

AGRICULTURE 

Great progress has recently been made in agri- 
culture along the line of the Gulf & Ship Island 
Railroad. This progress has been especially 
noticeable in cotton growing, but the railroad 




COTTON TICKING. 



58 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




TRUCK FAKM1N( 



AliliAGES. 



appreciates the importance of encouraging diver- 
sified farming and through its industrial and 
immigration department is doing much in this 
direction. To show the farmers just what can be 
done, it is placing under cultivation this season 
360 acres of land within five miles of Gulfport. 
Here cotton, corn, and more particularly fruits 
and vegetables will be grown. The production 
of cotton must in the very nature of things ever 
remain one of the leading industries of Missis- 
sippi, but at the same time crops may be diversi- 
fied without materially affecting the yield of this 
great product. 

The soil of southern Mississippi is especially 
adapted to cotton growing. This is shown by 
the yield per acre of the counties tributary to the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad. Their average 
(.424 bales per acre) is but little less than that 



59 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



for the whole State (.444 bales per acre) and the 
latter is second only to Louisiana in its yield per 
acre. Another good proof of the fertility of the soil 
is the return that individual farmers obtain. Con- 
sequently, the following examples are of interest: 
At Wiggins, on the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 
Mr. Barber obtained last year twenty-seven bales 
of cotton from twenty-eight acres ; at Lumberton, 
Mr. D. C. Camp gathered eleven bales, averag- 
ing 522 pounds to the bale, from fourteen acres; 
and at the State experimental farm, at McNiel, 
a yield of a bale to the acre was obtained. 

The growth of cotton has been stimulated in 
recent years by the increasing demand for the 
small cotton seed. A few years ago this seed was 
practically worthless, while to-day its value is 
about $30 a ton. As there are generally about 
two pounds of seed to every pound of cotton, 
or about half a ton to the bale, the return from 
the seed is about ^15 per bale of cotton produced. 
Consequently, the value of the crop has been 
materially increased. The oil is the most im- 
portant of the products, the amount obtained 
from a ton of seed being worth about $20. The 
meal or cake returns about $8 and the hulls $2. 

Furthermore, the seed is becoming more valu- 
able each year on account of its constantly- 
increasing uses. As a result, the number of cot- 
ton-seed oil mills is growing at a rapid rate, no 
less than 120 having been started in the South 
last year. There are now over 200 of these mills 



60 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



in the cotton belt. In modern factories nothing 
of the seed is lost in the manufacture. From 
it is produced the most valuable stock for soap, 
butter, lard, salad, canning, miners' and other oils, 
fuel, fibre, paper, cattle feed, fertilizer, tiles and 
linters for cotton batting. First, the seed is divided 
into hulls, meat, linters, and waste. The hulls are 
then turned into fuel, fibre, paper, cattle feed, and 
fertilizer, and the meat into crude oil and cake 
or meal. The crude oil is then refined for its 
various uses. The linters go into cotton bat- 
ting. The waste is almost infinitesimal, consist- 
ing mainly of sand. 

In growing corn, excellent results have also 
been had, and, in consequence, its production in 
the State has increased from 26,148,144 bushels 
in 1890 to 38,789,920 bushels in 1900, or almost 
fifty per cent. 




TKLCK FARMir 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Even more promising, though, than the raising 
of cotton and corn are fruit culture and truck 
farming. The adaptability of the soil for these 
purposes is testified to both by those in charge 
of the State experimental stations and by the 
modern farmers along the line of the Gulf & Ship 
Island Railroad. Both Professor Hutchinson, 
director of the experimental farm of the Agricul- 
tural and Mechanical College at Starkville, and 
Mr. E. B. Ferris, director of the State experi- 
mental farm at McNiel, say that southern Missis- 
sippi will shortly be one of the great fruit and 
vegetable raising sections of the country. Many 
farmers have already entered this branch of agri- 
culture and others follow as fast as they see that 
it pays far better than does cotton growing. 
Thus, this year a thousand-acre farm growing 
principally strawberries will be started near Lyman 
and 200 acres of tomatoes will be grown near 
Collins. 

It should be noted here that carrying fruit and 
vegetables is much more profitable for a rail- 
road than is carrying cotton, in that the former 
is a higher class of freight. For a similar reason 
cotton pays a railroad better than does lumber. 

MANUFACTURES 

Manufactures throughout this district are in- 
creasing at about the same favorable rate as is 
agriculture. This progress is not transitory, for 
factories in this section enjoy many advantages. 



62 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Among these are: (a) free fuel for twenty-five 
years ( shavings and sawdust from the sawmills ) ; 
( b ) proximity to raw materials ( this applies to 
cotton mills, oil mills, compresses, fertilizer fac- 
tories, wood-working plants, canning factories, 
brick yards, etc.); (c) low cost of land and build- 
ing materials; (d) minimum insurance rates due 
to an unlimited supply of artesian water under 
a high pressure ; ( e ) freedom from taxation till 
1 910, by act of Legislature of 1900; (f) plen- 




DRIVE NEAR CU:LFP0RT. 



tiful, good, and cheap labor; fg) proximity to 
Gulfport and the resulting advantage of export 
trade. Furthermore, this section of the country 
is experiencing the same remarkable prosperity 
that the whole South is enjoying and will likewise 
share in the increased trade that will follow the 
opening of the Panama Canal. 



63 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Among the factories (other than lumber) that 
have been started recently along the line of the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad are the following: 
Laurel Cotton Mill, with its 10,000 spindles 
and 640 looms ($250,000 capital); Van Winkle 
Cotton-Seed Oil and Fertilizer Company ($250,- 
000 capital) at Gulfport; Laurel Oil and Fertilizer 
Company ; two fertilizer factories at Jackson ; 
three cotton-seed oil mills at Jackson and one 
each at Columbia and Hattiesburg; Lindsey 
Wagon Company at Laurel ; Mississippi Knitting 
Mills at Laurel; Gulfport Packing Company; 
iron foundries at Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and 
Jackson ; and many other plants, such as cotton 
compresses, cotton gins, roller mills, machine 
shops, plow factories, boiler works, sash and door 
factories, brick yards, ice factories, and electric 
light and power plants. 




HARKISUN LCJLMV CUUKT HOUSE, GL'LFI'ORT. 



64 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



TOWNS ON THE GULF & SHIP 
ISLAND RAILROAD 



H 



AVING seen the strong foundation on 
which the growing towns of southern 
Mississippi are being built, we will now 
consider briefly some of the towns along the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, as these give us 
a good idea of the prosperity of this part of 
our country. As we can only consider a few 
of these, it should be noted that the other 
towns are also growing rapidly. As proof of 
this we need only mention the towns of 
Mendenhall, Mount Olive, Collins, Seminary, 
Wiggins, and McHenry. From nothing at all 
or from villages having only about twenty-five 
people when the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad 
entered them, these towns have grown till to-day 
they have from 500 to 2,500 people. Further- 
more, they are now growing more rapidly than 
ever before. For brief description we have chosen 
the towns of Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and Jackson 
on the main line and Laurel and Columbia on the 
branches. 

GULFPORT 

Though scarcely five years old, Gulfport is to- 
day a town of prominence in the South. The 
people of Mississippi in general are very confi- 
dent of its future and predict that before many 
years it will be the first city of the State. This 



65 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



confidence of the natives is shared also by those 
who have studied its advantages and noted its 
growth. From a population of i,o6o in 1900, 
the town has grown steadily till to-day it has a 
population of about 5,000. The town is being 
built substantially, the majority of business build- 
ings being of brick. In the past year a great 
many brick buildings have been erected, as well 
as cottages for residences. The keynote of 
its success is the fact that it has one of the 
best harbors on the Gulf of Mexico. This 
fact is attracting to Gulfport many business 
men who realize the many advantages that it 
offers. 

As the terminals have already been described, 
we will not discuss them further, but will consider, 
briefly, some of the other features of Gulfport. 
Probably the most striking of these to the visitor 
is the new hotel "Great Southern." This hotel, 
with its 250 rooms, is intended as a winter resort 
for Northerners and as a summer resort for the 
people of the South, especially those of New 





GREAT SOUTHERN HOTEL AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 



66 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



Orleans. It is situated directly on the shore 
and is undoubtedly the finest resort hotel between 
Tampa and New Orleans. Other prominent 
buildings of Gulfport are the County Court 
House and those of the First National Bank 
and of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad. The 
latter is used for the offices of the company. It 
may be noted here that the First National Bank 
of Gulfport is now the largest bank in the State 
of Mississippi, having a capital of $250,000. 

The most important manufacturing plants of 
Gulfport are the new oil and fertilizer factory, in 
course of construction by the E. Van Winkle 
Gin and Machine Works of Atlanta, Georgia; 
the Gulfport Packing Company, and the shops 
of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad. There are 
also numerous smaller concerns. 

HATTIESBURG 

Hattiesburg, seventy miles from Gulfport, is 
to-day one of the most thriving and prosperous 
towns in Mississippi. In 1900, it had but 4,175 
people, while to-day it has about 7,000. It is 
especially well situated as far as railroads are con- 
cerned, for no less than four roads enter it, two 
being through routes (the Gulf & Ship Island 
and the New Orleans & Northeastern railroads), 
and two using it as a terminus (the Mobile, Jack- 
son & Kansas City and the Pearl & Leaf River 
railroads). Of these, the Gulf & Ship Island has 
undoubtedly contributed most to its growth, for it 



67 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




l&W ii ■ 





GREAT SOliTHEKN HOTEL AT GULFPORT. 



68 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



brings Hattiesburg twenty miles nearer the Gulf 
than does any other road, and also brings it into 
closer communication with the North and West. 

Its industries have grown very rapidly and its 
permanency is unquestioned. The fact that it is 
at the junction of four railroads is alone proof of 
this. But it should be noted that, in addition to 
its four sawmills and four planing mills, it has a 
cotton-oil mill, a compress, a foundry, two 
machine shops, a boiler works, a naval stores fac- 
tory, three brick yards, a door, sash, and blind 
factory, railroad shops, an ice plant, and an electric 
light and power plant. Its banking facilities are 
good, there being three banks with combined 
assets of $1,500,000. Further, Hattiesburg is 
the center of a large farming district and is 
becoming an important cotton market. 




POWER HOUSE, LAUNDRY, AND ICE PLANT. 



69 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



mm' 




GULFPORT — MODERN STORES. 



JACKSON 

Jackson, the capital of the State, is another of 
the towns in Mississippi that is growing very 
rapidly. It has to-day from 12,000 to 15,000 
people, whereas, in 1900, it had but 7,816. In 
addition to the State Capitol, recently completed 
at a cost of $1,000,000, it has the various State 
charitable institutions, all of which have beautiful 
buildings. 

In manufactures, Jackson has plants similar to 
those at Hattiesburg and Gulfport. Among 
them are three cotton-seed oil mills, two fertilizer 
factories, two sash, door, and blind factories, two 
foundries, three brick yards, a compress, and a 
plow factory. 

Jackson, like Hattiesburg, is a great railroad 
center, lines branching out in no less than seven 
directions. The roads which enter the city are 
the Gulf & Ship Island, the Illinois Central, 
the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley (Illinois Central 



70 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



system), and the Alabama and Vicksburg ("Oueen 
& Crescent Route"). 

COLUMBIA 

Columbia is not a new town by any means. 
It was the capital of the State as far back as 1821. 
It is said to be the oldest municipal organization 
in Mississippi, records on file dating back to 1812. 
It has never been a large town, and had but 507 
people in 1900. Since the opening of the Gulf 
& Ship Island Railroad, however, it has pro- 
gressed similarly to the other towns we have men- 
tioned. Its population to-day is about 2,000. 

Columbia is practically an agricultural town, 
being situated in the center of a good farming 
country on the Pearl River. Serving a consider- 
able district, it does a much larger business than 
its size would indicate. Its chief industry is a 
large cotton-seed oil mill. Its lumber interests 
are small. 




GULIi'CJK 1 — HANK liUILUlNG. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




p»wi»par 



GULFPORT — RESIDENCE. 



LAUREL 



About ten years ago Laurel was a village of 
about loo people, while to-day it has a population 
of from 6,000 to 7,000 people. This town owes 




GlTLFl'dRT ].;ESIDENCE. 



72 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



its beginning to the sawmills of Eastman, Gard- 
iner & Company and of the Kingston Lumber 
Company, but it has now outgrown its "sawmill 
age" and is to-day an illustration of the develop- 
ment of southern Mississippi. These sawmills, 
however, are still operating at their full capacity 
and have timber sufficient to last them at least 
twenty-five years. It is interesting to note that 
the first-mentioned firm recently decided to sell 
their "cut over" lands for farming purposes, and 
that they have already disposed of a large acre- 
age at higher prices than they paid for the land 
with the timber on it. 

Though of such recent growth. Laurel already 
has the following important industries in addition 
to its sawmills: Laurel Cotton Mill, having lo,- 
ooo spindles and 640 looms, and employing 400 
hands — capital, $250,000; Laurel Oil and Ferti- 




GULFPOKT — RESIDENCE. 



73 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



HATTIESBURG — BAPTIST CHURCH. 



lizer Company, 
using forty tons 
of cotton-seed 
daily — capital, 
$50,000; Lind- 
sey Wagon Com- 
, pany — capital, 
^ $50,000; Laurel 
■j Brick and Tile 
^ Company, having 
a capacity of 
30,000 bricks per day; and Mississippi Knitting 
Mills, with a capacity of 125 pairs of hose per 
day. It also has a large number of smaller 
factories, such as a machine shop, foundry, cot- 
ton compress, ice factory, and electric light and 
power plant. The town has two banks, one 
of which is the First National Bank of Lau- 
rel, with a capital of $100,000, and the 
other the Laurel National Bank, with $100,000 
capital. 

Thus Laurel has many industries other than 
her sawmills and so has developed into a perma- 
nent town. There appears to be no reason why 
other towns now wholly dependent on sawmills 
should not develop similarly. It may seem that 
Laurel is only a small town, but her relative 
importance is considerable. This is apparent 
when we remember that Vicksburg and Meridian, 
the leading cities of Mississippi, have only 
15,000 or 16,000 inhabitants. 



74 



INDUSTRIAL 



MISSISSIPPI 



FINANCIAL POSITION 

The gross earnings, operating expenses, and net 
earnings of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad for 
the last three fiscal years were as follows : 

COMPARATIVE INCOME ACCOUNT. 



For the Year Ended June 50 

Miles Operated, 
Gross Earnings, 
Operating Expenses 

and Taxes, . 



Net Earnings, . 
Other Income, 

Total Net Income, 
Fixed Charges, 

Surplus, . 



190J. 190Z. igoi. 

251 251 248 

$1,705,047 $1,374,684 $1,030,849 



1 ,079,61 8 



940,514 



■95,560 



25.429 ^434.170 ^235,21 
3>7i9 



$629,148 $434,170 $235,289 
195.430 175. 311 230,742 



$433.71 



258,859 



-.547 



From 1 901 to 1902, gross earnings increased 
$343,835 i;^;^.;^ per cent.), and from 1902 to 1903, 
$330,1,61, (24.0 per cent.). In the former period 
net income applicable to interest charges increased 
$198,881 (84.5 per cent.), and in the latter period, 
$194,978 (44.9 per cent.). 

These figures indicate a substantial and sustained 
growth in traffic and in net income applicable to 
interest and dividends. The interest charge for 
the year just ended was equivalent to $779 per 
mile of road, as against net income for the year of 
$2,507 per mile, and as against average net earn- 
ings of $1,726 per mile per annum for the three 
years 1 901-1903. The full year's interest on the 
funded debt was earned in less than four months. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



After payment of all fixed charges, the road earned 
8.67 per cent, on its $5,000,000 of stock. From 
this surplus dividends were paid at the rate of 4 
per cent, per annum. The earnings for the cur- 
rent year continue to show important gains over 
past years. During the six months ended Decem- 
ber 31, 1903, the gross earnings amounted to 
$946,256, as compared with $843,869 during the 
corresponding period of last year, a gain of 
$102,387, or 1 2. 1 per cent. The net income of 
the road has increased $60,857, or 19.7 per cent. 
A significant feature of the earnings, as given 
above, is the ratio of the operating expenses and 
taxes to the gross earnings. In 1901, this ratio 
was 77.18 per cent.; in 1902, 68.42 per cent., 
and in 1903, 63.32 per cent. Thus the Gulf & 
Ship Island Railroad is now operating on a basis 
comparable with the best of Southern roads. 
Notwithstanding this low operating ratio, an an- 
alysis of its expenses shows that the Gulf & Ship 
Island Railroad is spending more money on main- 
tenance of way and equipment than do most 
Southern roads. Consequently, the physical con- 
dition of the property is being continually im- 
proved. 

SOURCES OF REVENUE 

Of the total earnings of the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 1903 ($1,705,047), about $1,340,000 
was derived from the freight department, $325,000 
from the passenger department, and $40,000 from 



76 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




■-Mm- 



i||Iii|i^ii ii.i'- 






■~il 



i ■ -* SB» 







miscellaneous sources. In these figures no freight 
on company material is included. The freight 
traffic movement for alternate years since 1899 is 
shown in the following table : 

CLASSIFIED STATEMENT OF TONNAGE. 



Products of Agriculture, 
Products of Animals, 


1899. 
14,130 
816 


1 901. 

48,150 

1,871 


190?. 

64,488 

4,281 


Products of Mines, . 
Products of Forest, . 


710 
234,920 


1,758 
365,454 


10,076 
851,463 


Manufactures, 
Merchandise, 


10,674 
6,565 


32,973 
10,906 


90,187 
27,548 


Miscellaneous, . 


1,170 


8,740 


9,990 



268,985 469,952 1,058,033 

An important feature of the above statistics is 
the noteworthy growth that has occurred in the 
company's business other than lumber between 
the years 1899 and 1903. Thus the movement 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



of manufactured products has increased over 
eightfold and that of agricultural products over 
fourfold. Lumber has also increased enorm- 
ously, but every other class of freight has increased 
even more rapidly. Thus, from 1899 to 1903, 
the movement of lumber increased 262 per cent., 
while that of all other products increased 506 per 
cent. 

An analysis of the gross earnings for the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1902 (11,374,684), show that 
the earnings from traffic other than lumber were 
$616,755. As the ratio of the operating expenses 
and taxes to earnings was 68.42 per cent., the 
resulting net earnings from traffic other than lum- 





]^||l5l|III| 



FIRST NATIONAL BANK, HATTIESBURG. 



78 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



ber were $194,771, or $19,460 (ii.i per cent.) 
more than were the total fixed charges of the road 
($175,311) for the same year. The figures for 
the year ended June 30, 1903, made a still better 
showing. Of the total gross earnings ($1 ,705,047) 
$766,752 was from traffic other than lumber. As 
the ratio of operating expenses and taxes to gross 
earnings was 6^.1,^ per cent, for this period, the 
net earnings from this traffic were $281,245, or 
$85,815 (over forty-three per cent.) more than the 
company's fixed charges ($195,430). The earn- 
ings for the current year show still larger increases 
in the company's business other than lumber. 

For the purpose of refunding the bonded in- 
debtedness of the company as it had previously 



.^^Wik 




iATrii:sr.ri<r, - iu:sii)1:n'( 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




HATTIESBURG — RESIDENCE. 



existed, and for other capital requirements, the 
company executed, on February i, 1902, its first 
refunding and terminal mortgage to secure an 
authorized issue of $5,000,000 of five per cent, 
fifty-year gold bonds, limited to $20,000 per mile 
of completed railroad. The mortgage covers the 
entire property of the railroad company, including 
the terminal property and equipment. Of the 
total amount of bonds authorized, $2,750,000 
have been issued for refunding purposes, includ- 
ing $16,000 reserved for the redemption of prior 
lien bonds not yet presented, and $2,065,000 of 
bonds have been issued to pay for additions and 
improvements. The remainder of the author- 
ized issue is reserved for improving the physical 
condition of the property and for other capital 
requirements as they may arise. A sinking fund 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




HATTIESBURG — BUSINESS BUILDING. 



equivalent to one 
per cent, per an- 
num of the out- 
standing bonds 
will become oper- 
ative January 2, 
1905. Bonds will 
be retired by pur- 
chase, not by 
drawings. 

CONCLUSION 

Few railroad 
companies enjoy 
as many advan- 
tages and as bright prospects as does the Gulf & 
Ship Island Railroad. Among these may be 
mentioned its financial standing, its earning power, 
and its management. The financial standing of 
this road is one of 
unquestioned 
strength. Having 
no floating debt, 
its total author- 
ized bond issue 
is J5, 000, 000, 
which is limited to 
$20,000 per mile 
of completed 
railroad. Of 

this a m O U n t, hathesuukg — business building. 




81 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



14,815,000 have been issued to January i, 1904. 
The security of this issue is a first mortgage on 
the entire property of the road, which has cost in 
cash from fifty to sixty per cent, more than the 
par value of the bonds. Furthermore, this issue 
will also have first lien on the new branch (about 
sixty miles long) which is at present being con- 
structed. On completion of this branch, the aver- 
age of the total authorized amount will be about 
1 1 6,000 per mile of road. In comparison with 
this, it may be noted that the bonded indebted- 
ness per mile of road of railroads in that section 
is as follows: Mobile & Ohio Railroad, $27,422; 
Illinois Central Railroad, $30,158 ; New Orleans 
& Northeastern Railroad, $40,000. 




ITTTlini 






w 



HATTlKSIilRi; WATKK \V()KK^ 



INDUSTRIAL 



MISSISSIPPI 






JACKSON — CENTURY OFFICE BUILDING. 



When we consider the earnings of the road, we 
find the same excellent showing. From J23 5,289 
in 1 90 1, the net income increased to 1434,170 in 
1902, and to $629,148 in 1903. Thus the road 
earned in the year just ended at the rate of about 
$2,510 per mile, while the interest charge on the 
total authorized issue of $5,000,000 is only $996 
per mile. 

Further, its ability to maintain these earnings is 
unquestioned. While the main source of the 
earnings in the fiscal year 1903 was lumber, the 
revenue from this class of freight being fifty-five 
per cent, of the total earnings of the road, the net 



83 



INDUSTRIAL 

M ISSISSIPPI 



earnings from business other than lumber were 
over forty-five per cent, more than the total fixed 
charges of the road. Further, the earnings from 
lumber should continue at their present rate for 






"a & 



JACKSON — COUNTY COURT HOUSE. 



twenty-five years at least, and even then they 
should fall off but slowly, owing to the large 
amounts of forest lands that are at present being 
held as investments. Farming is making rapid 
headway on the cleared timber lands, and the rail- 
road earnings show increases every year from this 
source. This is proved by the rapid increase of 
the past two years in the acreage devoted to cotton 
growing, and will be shown still further this com- 
ing season in the increased acreage devoted to 
truck farming and fruit growing as well as to 
cotton growing. In addition to the rapid strides 



84 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



that are being made in farming, manufacturing is 
also growing very fast. Thus, as has been shown 
above, various factories, such as cotton mills, 
cotton-seed oil mills, fertilizer factories, wood- 
working plants, and iron works are springing up 
throughout this district. 

However, the earning power of the road is not 
dependent entirely on local business. In fact, a 
large portion of its business will undoubtedly be 
that brought to it by its terminals and docks at 
Gulfport. Owing to the many advantages of this 
port, a large coastwise as well as foreign trade, both 
import and export, should develop, and so give 
the railroad much through business. Especially 
important items in this connection should be the 
following exports : cotton and its products, grain, 
live stock, iron and its manufactures, and coal ; 
also the following imports : tropical fruits, coffee, 
phosphates, etc. For all these, this port has 




JACKSOr 



KN(il{ S MANSll 



85 



NDUSTRIAL 



MISSISSIPPI 



special advantages. Thus, it is nearer Memphis, 
the greatest inland cotton market, than is any 
other port. It is also nearer the famous Yazoo 
delta cotton fields. It enjoys similar advantages 
for the export of grain, packing-house products, 
and live stock, while for the export of iron and 
coal it is almost as near the Birmingham district 
as are Mobile and Pensacola, and it has the addi- 
tional advantage of having two competitive roads, 
the "Queen & Crescent Route" and the Gulf 
& Ship Island Railroad on the one hand, and the 
Louisville & Nashville Railroad on the other. 
The former route is forty miles shorter than the 
latter and so would probably obtain the freight. 
The advantages for the imports mentioned are 
the short time required to come from the open 
Gulf to the piers and the shorter distance to many 
Northern markets. This saving of time is especi- 
ally important in the transportation of tropical 

fruits, and should 
be instrumental in 
' obtaining much 

" business for Gulf- 

port. 

Management 
determines largely 
the success or 
failure of modern 
corporations, and 
in this particular 
the Gulf & Ship 




86 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




COLUMBIA — RETAIL STORES. 



Island Railroad Company is especially strong. 
The President of the company, Mr. J. T. Jones, 
is a Northern man who has been successful in all 
his undertakings. He is the principal owner of 
the property and is spending a large amount of 
his own money in its development. At the pres- 
ent time his investment is upwards of $3,000,000. 
He is thoroughly interested in his work and gives 
all his time to it, making Gulfport his home for a 
great part of the year. Outside of the railroad 
itself, he is interested in a number of industries and 
is doing all he can to build up the country. The 
First Vice-President of the road is Mr. Joseph A. 
Jones, and the Second Vice-President Mr. Thomas 
P. Hale, formerly of the Southern Railway. 



^7 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




COLUMBIA — BUSINESS BUILDING. 



The Consulting Engineer, Mr. J. H.Thompson, 
was for many years Chief Engineer of the Central 
Railroad of New Jersey. He is a man of much 
experience in all branches of railroading. This 
experience has not been limited to the engineering 
department alone, for Mr. Thompson has been 
connected with the operating and traffic depart- 
ments as well. Consequently, his services have 
been of great value to the Gulf & Ship Island 
Railroad. He has naturally brought many of his 
former associates with him and, in consequence, 
the Chief Engineer, Mr. W. W. Vail, and the 
majority of his assistants are men who have 
obtained their training with the Central Rail- 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




LAUREL — FIRST RESIDENCE, TEN YEARS AGO. 




LAUREL — RESIDENCE OF TO-DAY, 



8y 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




t^lflfl^' 'W!! 




LAUREL — RESIDENCE. 



road of New Jersey. Considering the impor- 
tance of engineering in modern railroading, the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad is fortunate in hav- 
ing obtained such experienced men. 

In the operating, traffic, and auditing depart- 
ments this railroad is also well managed. Mr. 

Richard Morgan, 
the General 
Superintendent; 
Mr. S. D. Boyl- 
ston, the General 
Freight Agent; 
and Mr. Elisha 
Gee, the Auditor, 
are all practical 
railroad men who 
have obtained 




BANK OF LAITREL. 



90 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




LAUREL — CHURCH. 



Boylston and M: 



their experience in 

A the South and who 

^ understand fully 

^" the needs of 

Southern roads 
and traffic. Mr. 
Morgan was for- 
merly with the 
Illinois Central 
Railroad, and Mr. 
Gee were with the Sea- 
board Air Line. Thus the road has among its 
most important officers men with a wide experi- 
ence in railroading. This is shown by the 
increased earnings that the traffic department is 
bringing to the road and by the reduction of the 
ratio of the operating expenses to the gross earn- 
ings. 

In closing, reference should be made to the 
growing prosperity of the South to-day. For 
years it had lain seemingly dormant, but recently 
the attention of the North has been attracted to 
it and, in conse- 
quence, a large 
amount of North- 
ern capital has 
been invested 
there. Now, with 
the commence- 
ment of work on 
the Panama Canal 




91 



INDUSTRIAL 

M ISSISSI PPI 




LAUREL — BUSINESS BUILDING. 



# 



Hi' 






r ^ t 



I 







LUMBERTON — FIRST NATIONAL BANK. 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 




LUMBERTON — RESIDENCE. 



the South should develop as never before. This, 
of course, means still greater prosperity for 
Southern railroads and among these the Gulf & 
Ship Island. The business of Southern ports 
should also increase enormously, and thus the 
Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, on account of its 
piers and channel at Gulfport, should be doubly 
benefited. 



r%\.\ 






93 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAILROAD 
COMPANY 

First Mortgage Refunding and Terminal five per 
cent. Gold Bonds. 

Interest payable January and July. Due February i, 1952. 

Total authorized issue, $5,000,000. 
New York Security & Trust Company, Trustee. 

The main line of the Gulf & Ship Island 
Railroad extends from Gulfport, Miss., northward 
to a junction with the Illinois Central and Queen 
& Crescent systems at Jackson, the State capital, 
a total, with branches, of 251 miles owned and 
operated. Gulfport, the southern terminus of the 
road, is situated on the Gulf of Mexico and has 
one of the finest harbors on the coast. 

These bonds are secured on the entire property 
of the Railroad Company, including its equip- 
ment and its extensive system of piers and termi- 
nals at Gulfport. 

A sinking fund, equivalent to one per cent, per 
annum on the outstanding bonds, will become 
operative on January 2, 1905. Bonds will be 
retired by purchase, not by drawings. 

Gross Earnings. Net Income. 

1901^ $i»o3o,849 ^235,289 

1902, 1,374,684 434>i7o 

1903' i>7o5»o47 629,148 

The surplus for the year just ended, after pay- 
ment of all fixed charges, was equivalent to about 



94 



INDUSTRIAL 

MISSISSIPPI 



nine per cent, on the $5,000,000 common stock, 
from which dividends at the rate of four per cent, 
per annum have been paid. 

Coupon bonds may be registered as to prin- 
cipal or exchanged for fully registered certificates, 
which are reconvertible into coupon bonds. 

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange. 

FISK & ROBINSON, 

Bankers and Dealers in Investment Securities. 



2^ Cedar Street, New York. 
28 State Street, Boston. 



95 



MATTHEWS-NORTHRUP 
WORKS 




MAR 22 1904 



